Biomedical subjects

L G Ost

Publications and source records attributed to L G Ost.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1996

One-session group treatment of spider phobia.

Forty-two patients with spider phobia, fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria for simple phobia, were assessed with behavioral, physiological and self-report measures. They were randomly assigned to two group treatment conditions: (1) small groups of three to four patients, and (2) large groups of seven to eight patients. They received one 3-hr session consisting of exposure and modeling. The results showed that both conditions yielded significant improvements on almost all measures, and these were maintained or furthered at the 1-yr follow-up. With one exception, there was no difference between the conditions, but on most measures there was a trend for the small group condition to yield better effects. The proportions of clinically significantly improved patients at post-treatment were 82% in the small group and 70% in the large group. At follow-up the corresponding figures were 95% and 75%, respectively. The conclusion that can be drawn is that one-session group treatment is a feasible alternative to individual treatment, yielding almost as good effects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Recognition bias for critical faces in social phobics.

Social phobics were compared with normal controls on a task of face recognition. The subjects were presented with 20 photos, and were required to judge whether the persons on the photos were critical or accepting; five minutes later they were unexpectedly presented with a recognition task. The social phobics recognized more of the critical than the accepting faces, whereas the controls tended to recognize more accepting than critical faces. The results are discussed in terms of a possible recognition bias or response bias, and in terms of differences in the encoding activities of the subjects. It is also argued that research on memory in emotional disorders should make more use of concrete non-verbal stimuli (like faces) in the future, since subjects' encoding activities are more amenable to experimental control with such stimuli than with verbal stimuli.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Electrodermal activity and social network as predictors of outcome of episodes in schizophrenia.

The predictive value of electrodermal activity and social network was examined among 48 consecutively admitted schizophrenic patients. The patients were followed from an initial admission, through hospital stay, discharge, follow-up (M = 31 months), and possible relapse. Outcome variables were the length of stay in the hospital at the key episode and time to relapse, defined as a marked exacerbation or return of schizophrenic symptoms requiring inpatient or expansion of outpatient treatment. Multivariate analyses showed that a psychosocial variable, the availability of attachment, was the only independent predictor of length of stay in the hospital. Age at admission was a strong predictor of time to relapse. Age interacted with both outcome and electrodermal activity, and young electrodermal nonresponders were found to have the shortest time to relapse. At the 1-year follow-up, a main relapse effect was found for patients with a low skin conductance level.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Cognitive bias in panic disorder patients and changes after cognitive-behavioral treatments.

The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive biases in panic disorder patients via a questionnaire originally developed by Clark and co-workers [Clark, Salkovskis, Gelder, Koehler, Martin, Anastasiades, Hackman, Middleton & Jeavons, (1988). In Hand, I. & Wittchen, H.-U. (Eds) Panic and Phobias 2] to assess interpretations of ambiguous internal (bodily sensations) and external events. The results showed that, compared to normal controls, panic disorder patients interpreted bodily sensations in a more threatening fashion, while there was no difference concerning external events. Cognitive-behavioral treatments normalized this bias, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Applied Relaxation were equally effective in this respect. Moreover, compared to panicking patients, panic-free patients had reduced their cognitive threat bias at post-treatment and follow-up to a significantly larger extent. The results support the cognitive theory of panic disorder.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Applied relaxation vs cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of panic disorder.

The present study investigated the efficacy of a coping-technique, applied relaxation (AR) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), in the treatment of panic disorder. Thirty-eight outpatients fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder with no (n = 30) or mild (n = 8) avoidance were assessed with independent assessor ratings, self-report scales and self-observation of panic attacks before and after treatment, and at a 1-yr follow-up. The patients were treated individually for 12 weekly sessions. The results showed that both treatments yielded very large improvements, which were maintained, or furthered at follow-up. There was no difference between AR and CBT on any measure. The proportion of panic-free patients were 65 and 74% at post-treatment, and 82 and 89% at follow-up, for AR and CBT, respectively. There were no relapses at follow-up, on the contrary 55% of the patients who still had panic attacks at post-treatment were panic-free at follow-up. Besides affecting panic attacks the treatments also yielded marked and lasting changes on generalized anxiety, depression and cognitive misinterpretations. The conclusion that can be drawn is that both AR and CBT are effective treatments for panic disorder without avoidance.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

One-session therapist directed exposure vs two forms of manual directed self-exposure in the treatment of spider phobia.

Fifty-two patients with spider phobia, fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria for simple phobia, were assessed with behavioral, physiological and self-report measures. They were randomly assigned to five different treatment conditions: (1) one session therapist-directed exposure (maximum 3 hours), (2) specific manual-based treatment in the home, (3) specific manual-based treatment at the clinic, (4) general manual-based treatment in the home and (5) general manual-based treatment at the clinic. The results show that therapist-directed one-session treatment was significantly more effective than three of the manual-based treatments, both at the post-treatment and follow-up stages. Specific manual-based treatment at the clinic was significantly more successful than the other manual-based treatments, but only at follow-up. The proportion of clinically significant improved patients at follow-up was 80% in the therapist-directed group compared to 63% for the specific manual-based treatment at the clinic, 10% for specific manual-based treatment in the home, 9% for general manual-based treatment in the home, and 10% for general manual-based treatment at the clinic. The conclusion that can be drawn is that one-session therapist-directed treatment is the treatment of choice for spider phobia but manual-based treatment is a good alternative in some cases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Applied relaxation, exposure in vivo and cognitive methods in the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia.

Forty-five psychiatric outpatients with DSM-III-R diagnosis of panic disorder with agoraphobia were assessed with a battery of self-report, behavioral and cognitive measures before and after therapy, and at a 1 yr follow-up. They were randomly assigned to either Applied Relaxation (AR; n = 15), Exposure in vivo (E; n = 15) or Cognitive Treatment (CT; n = 15) and received 12 individual therapy sessions, once weekly. All patients also had self-exposure instructions. The three treatments yielded significant improvements that were maintained at follow-up. One criterion of clinically significant improvement was fulfilled by 87% of the AR-, 80% of the E- and 60% of the CT-patients at the end of treatment, and 85, 79 and 67%, respectively, at follow-up. Between-group differences were observed on two measures only, both showing better results for AR than for CT. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the three treatments, focussed on different anxiety components, are about equally effective, and the results are maintained 1 yr after the end of treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Blood and injection phobia: background and cognitive, physiological, and behavioral variables.

Blood-phobic (n = 81) and injection-phobic (n = 59) patients fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria for simple phobia were compared on a number of variables. There were no differences between the samples in age at onset, age at treatment, marital and occupational status, history of fainting in the phobic situation, and impairment. Higher proportions of blood-phobic subjects than of injection-phobic subjects reported having first-degree relatives with the same phobia (61% vs. 29%) and reported fearing that they were going to faint in the phobic situation (77% vs. 48%). In both samples, these proportions were higher in the subgroup with a history of fainting. Injection-phobic subjects rated 2 of 11 physiological items higher than did blood-phobics subjects, but the groups did not differ on behavioral variables. Overall, the similarities were more marked than the differences, and it is suggested that these two specific phobias should be regarded as one diagnostic entity.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Applied tension, exposure in vivo, and tension-only in the treatment of blood phobia.

Thirty patients with phobia for blood, wounds and injuries were treated individually with applied tension (AT), exposure in vivo (E), or tension-only (T) for 5 sessions. They were assessed on self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment, and at a 1 yr follow-up. All groups improved significantly, and the improvements were maintained at follow-up. Applying stringent criteria, 90% of the AT-, 80% of the T-, and 40% of the E-patients were clinically improved at the end of treatment. The corresponding figures at follow-up were 100, 90 and 50%, respectively. AT differed significantly, and T marginally from E at both assessments. Applied tension, or tension-only should, from a clinical point of view, be considered the treatment of choice for blood phobia.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Acquisition of blood and injection phobia and anxiety response patterns in clinical patients.

The ways in which blood phobics (N = 81) and injection phobics (N = 56) had acquired their phobias were retrospectively investigated. The patients were required to answer a questionnaire concerning: (a) the origin of the phobia, with items relevant for conditioning experiences, vicarious experiences and experiences of negative information/instruction; (b) physiological reactions; (c) anticipatory anxiety; and (d) negative thoughts while in the phobic situation. In addition background data on marital and occupational status, family history of phobia, fainting history, and severity of the phobia were obtained. Furthermore, the patients' behavioral, physiological, and cognitive-subjective reactions during the behavioral test were assessed. The results showed that a majority (52%) of the patients attributed the onset of their phobias to conditioning experiences, while 24% recalled vicarious experiences, 7% instruction/information and 17% could not remember any specific onset circumstances. There was no significant relationship between ways of acquisition and anxiety components, nor did conditioning and indirectly acquired phobias differ in severity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Electrodermal orienting response, maternal age, and season of birth in schizophrenia.

Consistent with earlier research, male schizophrenic patients born during the season of excess risk for schizophrenia (January-April) showed significantly lower electrodermal responsivity than controls born during the season of excess risk, and patients and controls born during the season not associated with increased risk (May-December). No support for maternal age as an explanation for the season-of-birth effect was found.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Season of birth and electrodermal unresponsiveness in male schizophrenics.

The present study was designed to examine differences in the electrodermal activity of schizophrenics born in the season of excessive risk (January-April), and those born in the season of nonexcessive risk (May-December). Thirty-two male schizophrenics were presented with a series of orienting tones (1000 Hz, 80dB, 2 sec duration) while electrodermal activity was monitored. They were subdivided according to season of birth and compared in three electrodermal variables, and also in some background and clinical parameters. We found that schizophrenics born in the season of excessive risk were characterized by significantly lower electrodermal activity and more negative symptoms than those born in the season of nonexcessive risk.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Long-term follow-up of migraine treatment: do the effects remain up to six years?

Fifty migraine subjects (constituting 79% of the originally treated sample) participated in a follow-up study to 6 yr after the end of treatment. Subjects had been treated with different forms of biofeedback methods (skin temperature, BVP of the temporal artery) and applied relaxation training. The assessment included 4 weeks of continuous self-monitoring of headache activity and medication usage, as well as a retrospective self-rating scale. The main results indicated that, on a group basis, headache reductions achieved at the end of treatment persisted for up to 6 yr, and were indeed enhanced during the follow-up period.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The Agoraphobia Scale: an evaluation of its reliability and validity.

This article presents the Agoraphobia Scale (AS), and evidence for its reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change after treatment. The scale consists of 20 items depicting various typical agoraphobic situations, which are rated for anxiety/discomfort (0-4) and avoidance (0-2). The results show that AS has high internal consistency. Regarding concurrent validity it correlated significantly with other self-reported measures of agoraphobia (Mobility Inventory and Fear Questionnaire). The scale's predictive validity was shown as it correlated with avoidance behavior and self-rated anxiety during both an individualized and a standardized behavioral test of agoraphobia. The AS also discriminated between an agoraphobic sample and a normal sample, and a sample of simple phobia patients. Finally, it was sensitive to changes after behavioral treatment. The AS is useful both as a state, and as an outcome self-report measure of agoraphobia.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

BVP-biofeedback in the treatment of migraine. The effects of constriction and dilatation during different phases of the migraine attack.

Biofeedback training for self-regulation of blood-volume pulse ("BVP") amplitude of the temporal arteries has been used previously with good results in treatment of migraine headaches. In the present study, 23 subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups and given (a) biofeedback training in temporal artery constriction and instructions to apply these skills during headaches; (b) the same training and instructions to apply the skills between headaches, during stress periods, and (c) biofeedback training to dilate the temporal arteries, and instructions to use these skills during stress periods. Clinically meaningful headache reductions were achieved and maintained at follow-up. Furthermore, results indicated that voluntary temporal artery dilatation also leads to headache reductions, and that there is a connection between levels of achieved self-regulation skill and the clinical effects.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Applied tension, applied relaxation, and the combination in the treatment of blood phobia.

Thirty patients with phobia for blood, wounds and injuries were treated individually with applied tension, applied relaxation, or the combination of these two methods for 5, 9 and 10 sessions, respectively. They were assessed on self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. All groups improved significantly on 11/12 measures, and the improvements were maintained at follow-up. Applying stringent criteria, 73% of the patients were clinically improved at the end of treatment and 77% were so at follow-up. Despite a failure to find between-group differences, on many measures there was a trend favoring applied tension. Since this method is as effective as the other treatments in only half the time, applied tension should clinically be the treatment of choice for blood phobia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

A maintenance program for behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.

A maintenance program for behavioral treatments of anxiety disorders is presented in some detail, together with preliminary results of its application as part of three treatment trials. Compared to previous studies reporting long-term effects of behavioral treatments, the present program yielded a larger percentage of improvement during the follow-up period, a lower proportion of patients needing further treatment, and fewer relapses.

Anxiety Disorders↗

PubMed1989

One-session treatment for specific phobias.

A rapid and effective treatment for specific phobias, in which the treatment is done in one single session, is described in detail. The treatment method consists of a combination of exposure in vivo and modeling. The short- and long-term outcome for a consecutive series of 20 patients are reported. Mean treatment time was 2.1 h and at follow-up after an average of 4 yr 90% were much improved or completely recovered.

Adolescent↗